Jaehwa Bernardo

Mark Lee in a promotional photo for his album 'The Firstfruit.' Photo from NCT's X account

Article (news)

K-pop star Mark Lee leaves NCT, label SM Entertainment

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1775199329307photo_2026-04-03_14-55-15.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Mark Lee in a promotional photo for his album &#x27;The Firstfruit.&#x27; <em>Photo from NCT&#x27;s X account</em></span></span></span></div><p><strong>(UPDATE) </strong>K-pop star Mark Lee is departing the popular boy band NCT and its label, SM Entertainment, the agency announced Friday.</p><p>In a notice posted on the fan community platform Weverse, SM said Mark&#x27;s exclusive contract will end on April 8 following a &quot;long period of careful and thoughtful discussion&quot; with the 26-year-old artist.</p><p>&quot;Mark will conclude all activities as a member of NCT, including NCT 127 and NCT Dream,&quot; it said, referring to the group and its sub-units in which the artist performs. </p><p>SM said it was &quot;truly grateful for the time [Mark] spent with us,&quot; praising the artist for his &quot;exceptional talent and versatility&quot; demonstrated through both group and solo activities.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2039956408847024236&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-04-03T07%3A32%3A51.830072%3A6a3e0d25-f6a5-4dc1-ac88-4727a519acc7%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=31fdc9f17d1fde10058f90481d281a306580fc7e&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:600px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="2039956408847024236"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>&quot;We wholeheartedly support him as he begins a new chapter in his journey,&quot; the company added.</p><p>SM said the Seoul-based NCT 127 will continue as a seven-member group, while the youth concept-focused NCT Dream will move forward with six members.</p><p>&quot;SM Entertainment will continue to fully support the activities of the NCT members, and we will do our best to honor the continued love and support from fans,&quot; it said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/8/14/nct-dream-wraps-up-asia-tour-with-amazing-manila-crowd-1350"><strong>READ: NCT Dream wraps up Asia tour with &#x27;amazing&#x27; Manila crowd<br/></strong></a></div><div><strong>&#x27;NEXT CHAPTER&#x27;</strong></div><p>On Instagram, Mark shared handwritten letters in both Korean and English, expressing his gratitude to fans.</p><p>&quot;I hope our next chapter together could be where we are all healthily smiling about the past, welcoming the present, and being excited for what&#x27;s to come,&quot; he wrote in the English letter.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1775203318190658214144_18125427929507559_2806884811070622336_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Photo from Mark&#x27;s Instagram account</em></span></span></span></div><p>&quot;If I had ever done something right to have gained your trust over the last decade, I hope you believe me when I say that I&#x27;m not doing this just for fun,&quot; he said.</p><p>He told fans he was &quot;truly and always thinking about you guys.&quot;</p><p>&quot;And I&#x27;ll really be working very very hard to make it all make sense,&quot; he said.</p><p>Mark made his debut in 2016 as a member of NCT, joining the first wave of members introduced with the single &quot;The 7th Sense.&quot;</p><p>NCT&#x27;s concept involves its more than 20 members performing in various sub-units. In Mark&#x27;s case, he was part of NCT 127 and NCT Dream, quickly becoming one of the most popular and recognizable members of the group.</p><p>In 2019, he also <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/10/02/19/k-pop-supergroup-superm-set-to-make-hollywood-debut"><strong>debuted in SuperM</strong></a>, a supergroup made up of members from various SM Entertainment boy bands.</p><p>He later launched a solo career, <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/music/2025/4/7/watch-nct-s-mark-goes-back-to-1999-in-time-travel-mv-1719"><strong>releasing his first album, &quot;The Firstfruit,&quot;</strong></a> in 2025.</p>

<p>K-pop star Mark Lee is departing the popular boy band NCT and its label, SM Entertainment, the agency announced Friday.</p>

K-pop star Mark Lee is departing the popular boy band NCT and its label, SM Entertainment, the agency announced Friday.